Roger Hardy, BBC Islamic affairs analyst, has a four part series on Islam in countries like Malaysia and Indonesia called Islam's Furthest Frontiers.
Part One: Malaysia: Islam and multi-culturalism
In the 1980s and 1990s, Malaysia's course was charted by its ambitious Prime Minister, Mahathir Mohamad.
He and his ruling Umno party pursued a modernisation programme based on two guiding principles.
First, they gave Islam a new pre-eminence in public life. This meant stressing Muslim values and identity, building up Islamic institutions and forging new links with the wider Muslim world.
Second, they continued the "affirmative action" policies, begun in the 1970s, which gave the ethnic Malays - who form some 60% of the population - a privileged position in government, education and the bureaucracy.
(I'm struggling to see progressiveness in these principles. How are they going to modernize Malaysia?)
But where do these twin goals leave the Chinese, Indians and others who form the non-Muslim minority?
Can a society based on these two principles also be genuinely democratic?
Despite his ambition, Mahathir's plan ran into a few snags. First there was the opposition. Secular liberals think the "'Islamisation' of Malaysian society and politics has gone too far," Umno's Islamic opposition party (Pas) wants it to go further so that Malaysia becomes an Islamic state governed by Sharia law, and the non-Muslim minorities are worried about their basic rights.
Secondly, in addition to the opposition, there was the slight problem of corruption. Mahathir stepped down in 2003, but his most likely successor,Anwar Ibrahim, was convicted and sentenced on charges of corruption and sodomy. So instead of passing "the plan" onto an ambitious, leading Muslim intellectual, Mahathir was succeeded by quiet, cautious Abdullah Badawi.
It will be interesting in the next few years to see who will gain the upper hand in Malaysia. Will Umno with Anwar Ibrahim now out of prison - early, of course - be able to rise to it's former glory? Will Pas have it's way and see Malaysia enter the Dark Ages? Or will the secular liberals and non-Muslim's restore the principles of democracy and equality for all men?
Hardy ends with these questions:
So will Malaysia be able to shake off the corruption and authoritarianism which have tarnished the Umno project?
And can it transform its disparate communities into a unified Malaysian nation where everyone is equal?
(I will have to discuss this with my Chinese Malaysian friend.)
Comments